University of Zurich ranked 57th among the world’s leading universities in this year’s QS World University Rankings

ZURICH, 16-9-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — In this year’s QS World University Rankings, the University of Zurich has made a large jump forward and is now ranked 57th among the world’s leading universities ‒ 21 places better than last year’s standing. In Switzerland, UZH is overall the third-best university, and is number 1 in the area Arts & Humanities.

The University of Zurich was able to maintain its steady improvement in the QS World University Rankings. Ranked 106th in 2011, UZH is now numbered among the 60 best universities in the world. Its 57th placement means UZH moved up 21 places last year, after having already gained 12 the previous year. This excellent standing means the University of Zurich now ranks as the third-best Swiss university, trailing only EPF Lausanne (17) and ETH Zurich (12). According to the QS Rankings, the world’s top university this year is Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

UZH’s good standing is mainly the result of an increased rate of publication by UZH researchers and of continually improving student-instructor ratios. In addition, better results in the reputation surveys gave UZH a boost in the QS standings, as did the international background of the teaching staff.

Switzerland’s best in Arts & Humanities
The University of Zurich also scored points in individual subject areas. In the section Arts & Humanities, UZH is newly ranked as Switzerland’s top university and is 43rd in the world in Life Sciences & Medicine, making UZH the second-best Swiss university in that category. In the natural sciences, UZH was able to move up 14 places compared to last year. For the first time, this year the QS Ranking based its rating of subject areas on bibliometric data (such as citations) in addition to the traditional peer and employer surveys.

2014 has proven to be a highly satisfactory year in the rankings for the University of Zurich. Having already moved up four places in the Shanghai Ranking, Switzerland’s largest comprehensive university has now gained ground in yet another renowned university ranking system.

«QS World University Rankings»
Published by Quacquarelli Symonds, the QS World University Rankings has been rating higher education institutions since 2004. The system focuses on an institution’s reputation among researchers and companies: Leading academics assess universities based on research excellence in a maximum of five subject areas, while the heads of human resources at international companies are surveyed on the quality of graduates’ education. An institution’s so-called academic reputation makes up 40 percent of its overall rank, and the employer survey contributes 10 percent. Citations in scholarly publications and the student-instructor ratio make up 20 percent each; the percentage of foreign students factors five percent in the ranking, as does that of international members of the teaching staff.